1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a method and to a mobile radio telephone network for handling a packet data service wherein an interface created for the interworking between a service node and both an integrated service switching function and a service control function supports uniform service handling which can be applied both for packet-oriented communication and connection-oriented communication.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As is known, it is possible to have connections controlled by an intelligent network (IN) for connection-oriented communication services in a communication network. For example, a CAMEL platform (customized applications for mobile network enhanced logic) is thus defined according to the GSM Recommendation 03.78 for mobile radio telephone networks according to the GSM standard (global system for mobile communication) in order to enable a worldwide use of the performance features of the intelligent network. The standard architecture of the intelligent network provides both a service switching function and a service control function that are connected to one another via a signaling link. A specific protocol that is composed of the CAP protocol (CAMEL application part) for the mobile radio telephone network is thereby employed.
New data services such as the packet data service GPRS (general packet radio service) according to GSM Recommendation 03.60 currently are being currently introduced in existing mobile radio telephone networks according to the GSM standard. The transmission in the mobile radio telephone network thereby does not occur connection-oriented, but occurs in the form of packet data. The advantage of packet-oriented transmission is that the given transmission resources in the mobile radio telephone network can be utilized better. The network architecture for the packet data service provides that the communication terminal equipment used by the mobile subscriber, the mobile station, is serviced at its respective location by a service network node (serving GPRS support node). Access to a packet data network is necessary in order to receive or send packet data. To this end, one or more access network nodes (gateway GPRS support nodes) are offered that respectively allows for this access to the packet data network (for example, the Internet) and support a specific packet data protocol (for example, Internet protocol). The packet data transmission occurs via a tunnel which is provided between the service network node and the access network node. It is currently not possible to support the packet data transmission according to the packet data service with the standard IN architecture.
An object of the present invention is, therefore, to specify a method and a mobile radio telephone network with which a handling of the packet data service for packet data transmission is enabled via an IN architecture.
Accordingly, proceeding from the handling of a packet data service in the mobile radio telephone network by a service network node in conjunction with an access network node for the transmission of packet data, the present invention promotes an interworking of the packet data service with network functions of an intelligent network whereof a service switching function is interconnected with the respective service network node and a service control function is connected via an interface to the service network node with integrated service switching function. Only by the interworking with integration of the service switching function into the service network node can the handling of the packet data service be achieved. This has the advantage of a service handling identical to all other IN services. The newly-created interface for the interworking between service network node with integrated service switching function and service control function thereby supports the uniform service handling that can be applied for packet-oriented communication as well as for connection-oriented communication. Over and. above this, the interworking of the service switching function of the intelligent network into the service network node yields the advantage that the subscriber-related data needed for handling the service (such as, for example, the location of the mobile station, the identification data, etc.) can be made directly available to the service switching function from the service network node, and not via xe2x80x9cdetours.xe2x80x9d
Pursuant to an embodiment of the present invention, the service switching node with integrated service switching function uses a plurality of statusses according to a status model for handling the packet data service, and status changes between the statusses are interpreted for the interworking with the network functions of the intelligent network.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, messages for the implementation of operations for the packet data service are sent and received via the interface between service switching function and service control function.
It also has proven to be beneficial to use certain events as trigger points for the packet data service for opening up a communication between service switching function and service control function. Over and above this, events also can be employed as detection points for the packet data service whose occurrence is respectively reported by the service switching function integrated in the service network node.
Additional features and advantages of the present invention are described in, and will be apparent from, the Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments and the Drawings.